Abstract (eng)
This thesis provides an analysis of how the political party Razem (Together) organized resistance to neoliberalism in Poland between 2015 and 2019. In order to better understand the politico-economic context in which Razem operates, I use theories of uneven development to analyze the consequences of the neoliberal transformation since 1989. The policies of the reformers were heavily influenced by neoliberal ideas. Labor relations fundamentally changed, and many households experienced increased insecurity, unemployment, poverty, and inequality. I analyze the politics of the neo-nationalist party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS, Law and Justice) as a possible renunciation of neoliberalism. The economic and social policies of PiS present a clear break with the past, while its reactionary history politics, the attacks on institutions such as high courts or the media, and the conservative backlash on women’s and LGBTQ rights offer a neo-nationalist alternative to the individualism of the neoliberal era. For the empirical part of the thesis I interviewed nine members of Razem during two field trips to Poland in 2018 and 2019. These interviews were interpreted utilizing a Critical Realist Grounded Theory approach and offer unique insights into how Razem views itself as an actor for alternative development, and what challenges arise in the resistance to neoliberalism and to a strengthened far-right. I compare Razem’s organizing approaches with theories of left populism, social democracy, and social movements. Razem was founded in early 2015, presenting itself as a new left party in the spirit of Podemos or SYRIZA. The interview partners view Razem instrumentally. The party’s self-described major function is to push the political discourse in Poland to the left, mostly via media politics and through participating in electoral politics. The party did not arise out of a social movement, yet it instigated, supported, and benefited from social movements once PiS took over government powers in the fall of 2015. Razem played a leading role in the feminist social movement that became known as “Czarny Protest” (black protest) and has also supported LGBTQ movements, anti-racist struggles, movements against the climate crisis, and labor struggles. Razem’s vision for Poland focuses on the idea of an inclusive social democratic welfare state. I characterize Razem as a project that has revived social democracy in Poland with a left populist approach, but has failed to become the leading party of the left.